From The Boardroom: Liverpool

We bring you the latest notes from Steve Parish as he writes his matchday programme column for the cup game against Liverpool.

Firstly I would like to welcome the owners, directors, management, players and supporters of Liverpool Football Club to Selhurst Park this evening for this FA Cup fifth-round tie.

On Wednesday we got another vital point in our quest to stay away from the relegation zone against Newcastle United. It was great to see Fraizer Campbell find the net as it shows that the goals are being shared around the side again which was a key reason we managed to stay up last year.

However attentions now turn to the FA Cup, which is becoming a welcome distraction from the league. I feel that the signings we made last month have helped boost the quality of the squad and allow us to compete in the cups without being detrimental to our league position.

This is the furthest the club has been in this competition since we purchased the club nearly five years ago now, and we are just two wins away from reaching a Wembley semi-final. Of course we can't look too far ahead of ourselves, but we're just enjoying our FA Cup run all the same.

It was refreshing going to Dover Athletic in the third round and seeing football in its purest form which is the magic of the competition, and a professional job from the boys meant we could travel to Southampton fresh from the stresses of fighting relegation. We could play with the shackles off that day as points weren't at stake, and it helped us beat a team flying high in the Premier League this season on their own patch.

After two away ties it's great to have a high-profile cup tie here at Selhurst Park today. There's something about the atmosphere of FA Cup games that I love, the risk and reward factor of knowing you could be a moment of brilliance from reaching the next round or a moment of madness from being eliminated from the competition. It's why it's such a fine tournament.

The history of the cup also makes it magical, and a lot of the talk has obviously been about the 1990 semi-final against the Reds, especially with Alan returning to the club. It really was an incredible game and if any of our younger fans haven't seen it, they should really try to watch it - there's plenty of footage of it on our YouTube channel.

Earlier in the season we enjoyed one of our best results since returning to the Premier League against today's opponents in what was a brilliant atmosphere that afternoon at Selhurst.

That was a magnificent performance from the boys and hopefully they can replicate that and help us into the final eight of the competition, and then the 1990 memories will certainly be rekindled.